It will be very interesting to see how the move at catcher works out. I had no idea that Salty was available "for a song" as they say, but this is a characteristic short term small move by BC that could serve nicely to give the kids at the backstop position time to mature.

And the difference in strikeouts is profound. These are very different hitters.

As is the difference in walks. Salty had the highest obp of his career last year where as AJ's obp was .297. That's a huge difference in terms of getting on base.

To me Ben is on shakey ground... his only move is AJ? So no Salty no Els and it could very well be no Drew or Napoli ... if he thinks for one minute that JBJ and Middlebrooks are adequate replacement then he is delusional....at this point who is an impact player left to choose from? Beltran and Choo probably but if they the dont sign either one of these guys then I think they take a big step backwards...

Ben is on shakey ground...LMAO. You mean the Ben who put together a championship team that are still champions right now?

...and what if they go all in for Cano? What if John Henry get's his dander up and says I want Cano--he's a better all around player than Ells and makes him a 8 year $250 M offer...the Yankees will have to at least match it and some other team would have to exceed it.

He and Ortiz are friends--he could play 3 B or perhaps 1 B---wherever he plays he would be a great acquisition.

I hope that happens. That would make up for Ellsbury times 10. Not only adding him to the lineup, but removing him from the Yankees. I wonder if it's possible since the Yankees are showing him absolutely no respect in his negotiations. It's not impossible.

...and what if they go all in for Cano? What if John Henry get's his dander up and says I want Cano--he's a better all around player than Ells and makes him a 8 year $250 M offer...the Yankees will have to at least match it and some other team would have to exceed it.

He and Ortiz are friends--he could play 3 B or perhaps 1 B---wherever he plays he would be a great acquisition.

I hope that happens. That would make up for Ellsbury times 10. Not only adding him to the lineup, but removing him from the Yankees. I wonder if it's possible since the Yankees are showing him absolutely no respect in his negotiations. It's not impossible.

In the oneupmanship and unpredictability department I have a feeling that could happen. However, I don't think offering a 31 yr old 7/180 for a very good but NOT all time great player on the level of Ruth, Mays or Williams is not quite lacking in respect. They both are, regardless, playing chicken.

...and what if they go all in for Cano? What if John Henry get's his dander up and says I want Cano--he's a better all around player than Ells and makes him a 8 year $250 M offer...the Yankees will have to at least match it and some other team would have to exceed it.

He and Ortiz are friends--he could play 3 B or perhaps 1 B---wherever he plays he would be a great acquisition.

I hope that happens. That would make up for Ellsbury times 10. Not only adding him to the lineup, but removing him from the Yankees. I wonder if it's possible since the Yankees are showing him absolutely no respect in his negotiations. It's not impossible.

In the oneupmanship and unpredictability department I have a feeling that could happen. However, I don't think offering a 31 yr old 7/180 for a very good but NOT all time great player on the level of Ruth, Mays or Williams is not quite lacking in respect. They both are, regardless, playing chicken.

They're supposedly signing Kelly Johnson, a second baseman. How insulting is THAT? I hope he's so insulted I will be seeing him next year in Boston. lol

LOL! Sign Cano and move Pedey to short. Pedey has played short before. Put Bogey at 3rd and Middy/Carp at first.

Hard to lose Salty for that much. I expected Ellsbury to go elsewhere, although I did not expect it to be New York. The real loss here is Salty for that little cash. RS could have kept him for a year and then dealt him. Even if Vasquez is ready at the break, I think that RS could still have dealt Salty. Bad news.

LOL! Sign Cano and move Pedey to short. Pedey has played short before. Put Bogey at 3rd and Middy/Carp at first.

Hard to lose Salty for that much. I expected Ellsbury to go elsewhere, although I did not expect it to be New York. The real loss here is Salty for that little cash. RS could have kept him for a year and then dealt him. Even if Vasquez is ready at the break, I think that RS could still have dealt Salty. Bad news.

...and what if they go all in for Cano? What if John Henry get's his dander up and says I want Cano--he's a better all around player than Ells and makes him a 8 year $250 M offer...the Yankees will have to at least match it and some other team would have to exceed it.

He and Ortiz are friends--he could play 3 B or perhaps 1 B---wherever he plays he would be a great acquisition.

I hope that happens. That would make up for Ellsbury times 10. Not only adding him to the lineup, but removing him from the Yankees. I wonder if it's possible since the Yankees are showing him absolutely no respect in his negotiations. It's not impossible.

In the oneupmanship and unpredictability department I have a feeling that could happen. However, I don't think offering a 31 yr old 7/180 for a very good but NOT all time great player on the level of Ruth, Mays or Williams is not quite lacking in respect. They both are, regardless, playing chicken.

They're supposedly signing Kelly Johnson, a second baseman. How insulting is THAT? I hope he's so insulted I will be seeing him next year in Boston. lol

LOL! Sign Cano and move Pedey to short. Pedey has played short before. Put Bogey at 3rd and Middy/Carp at first.

Hard to lose Salty for that much. I expected Ellsbury to go elsewhere, although I did not expect it to be New York. The real loss here is Salty for that little cash. RS could have kept him for a year and then dealt him. Even if Vasquez is ready at the break, I think that RS could still have dealt Salty. Bad news.

It will be very interesting to see how the move at catcher works out. I had no idea that Salty was available "for a song" as they say, but this is a characteristic short term small move by BC that could serve nicely to give the kids at the backstop position time to mature.

And the difference in strikeouts is profound. These are very different hitters.

What is fairly clear based on the terms of his deal with the Marlins is that the Sox were more than comfortable letting Salty walk. The Sox will be just fine next year with Ross who will platoon with Pierzinski. Giving the Sox a couple of savvy vets behind the plate. We're giving up a little power but not losing anything behind the plate. It buys the Sox an entire year to see where the market takes the position and the to-do will be to find the catcher of the future without sacrificing the now. They could probably go year to year with Ross and Pierzinski sign one or both for 2015...

WS, the Sox get 4 wins all without Saltalamacchia. Christian Vasquez, 23, expected to arrive in 2015. I think Farrell and Nieves figured into this decision And probably said Saltys hitting isn't enough, he has to go.

Wow.....a lot less cash than I thought he would get. I've been a hug fan and supporter of Salty and really hate to see him go. I like the AJ signing a lot but really think Salty would have been better...and like Moon said...he would have been easy to trade at that money.

I did hear however that supposedly Salty burned a few bridges last year in the clubhouse. Maybe he wasn't the great clubhouse guy that he appeared to be. I'm thinking this was the reason he's gone......

My suggestion to trade Salty "months ago" was based on the fact that if Salty was not in our longterm plans, as clearly he was not, we should have traded him for something useful. Instead, we got nothing for him.

I do recall the clown offering Salty more money than AJ got right after calling Salty a "back-up profile catcher".

Look what these joker catchers are signing for these days. Trading Salty after a year or two would have been a breeze.

Moon,

You couldn't be more correct. I missed your last post on Salty but my thought would have been sign hin for 2-3 years while our prospect are growing in the minors and if one or both are ready and proven by 2014-15 trade Salty. Decent catchers are hard to come by and the RS at least would have gotten something for him, now we got zero.

Some folks are suggesting the RS won the WS and seem to want to give Cherrington a pass and blindly support his moves. I think he's proved himself to us fans but with Ells going to NYC, Salty gone, bringing in a catcher with a .297OBP I don't like the direction the 2014 team is looking so far. Saving money by bringing in short term low cost rentals worked last year, but with losing Ells we lost the best lead off man in MLB. If fans don't think this will have an adverse affect on the team, they are kidding themselves.

LOL! Sign Cano and move Pedey to short. Pedey has played short before. Put Bogey at 3rd and Middy/Carp at first.

Hard to lose Salty for that much. I expected Ellsbury to go elsewhere, although I did not expect it to be New York. The real loss here is Salty for that little cash. RS could have kept him for a year and then dealt him. Even if Vasquez is ready at the break, I think that RS could still have dealt Salty. Bad news.

RS got tired of Salty's defense and holes in his bat.

Like his replacement doesn't have more holes. Salty should have been signed for 2-3 years as I mentioned when I commented to Moon and traded after a year or whenever one of our unproven prospects are ready. Salty's defense was decent, not nearly as bad as many make out but it was obvious the Sox didn't want him back. This is one move the Sox may regret. Trying to save money is one thing but being cheap is another. Salty should have gotten a one year QO so if he signed elsewhere at least we would have recieved a draft choice. Now we have two older catchers in a poisition where we need youth. Who is the back up if one goes down, Lavarney !! I hope one of our prospects are ready by mid-year.